Acceptance
by mike97321
Summary: Dick Grayson is standing in the middle of the Batcave, thinking about all the good times he and Wally had, looking at the only photo he has left of both of them. But he feels like he's losing his mind due to losing his friend Wally the day before. But before he can do anything, a familiar face shows and greets him.


The cold breeze blew past Dick's face as he stood within the Batcave. It was the middle of July, so this weather seemed weird even for Gotham, where Dick had lived since he was nine years old after his parents passed. "I wonder what happened to us, Wally? Where did all of the good times go?" He thought to himself as he looked down into the dark barely light up cavern below, tightly gripping the photo of him and Wally when they first started the league five years ago when Dick was fifteen and Wally was sixteen. It was the only thing that he had left from Wally, which he gave him to him on his fifteenth birthday.

"What do I do now?" he thought to himself as a breeze passed throughout the cave. Looking at the photo, he realized that the worst part was that he and Wally had been through so much in the past five years and now he would never be able to say goodbye to his best friend. Dick drifted into a deep thought process in which nothing seemed to matter. Wally was his best friend and boyfriend, he was the only thing that made him happy but now Wally was gone and he was all alone.

Growing up in the years before Wally or as he was known then as Kid Flash was mentored by Flash, his uncle, while Dick, known as Robin back in the day was mentored by Batman since he was nine years old. The day that they first met was incredible, Dick thought to himself.

It was the middle of fall. The leaves on the trees were still red and yellow, since they had not changed since the year before. The air was cool but still had that frigid feeling of cold left over from winter. Flash, Green Arrow and Batman had been working on bringing Dick, Wally and Roy into the league. They all met one another and Wally looked at Dick as he waited to introduce himself. "Hi I'm Robin" Dick said, extending his hand out toward Wally. "Kid Flash, nice to meet you" Wally said back, not hesitating even for a moment. Wally looked down at Robin since he was taller than him, a fact that he would never let Dick live down. The way that Wally looked at Dick, his blue cerulean eyes pierced his heart, making him fall for Dick. To him, Dick was his little man, a title that would stick for years even after they started dating.

He and Dick had been through so much from founding the team along with Kaldur, from fighting over who would be leader in the early days, to busting Connor out of Cadmus and finally getting Artemis to go out with him.

"We've been through a lot haven't we". He stared at the picture with a look of regret. He had regretting not being fast enough to reach Wally when he went after he vanished into thin air. After all, Dick was an acrobat and a crime fighter, not a meta human. He was just human like Bruce. He could not have reached him in time no matter how hard he tried, but he still felt like there was something he could have done to help. That was something that Dick would take to his grave and maybe one day when it was all over, find Wally in the afterlife when that time finally came around.

"Wally, I miss you man, we all do", he said with a lump in his throat, trying to fight back the tears. Tears flooded the frame; he could no longer hold the tears back like he wanted to. At that moment, Bruce walked in. He had not seen Dick since the day before and wondered if he could do anything to help his adopted son, who he cared dearly for even if he did not shown it directly. Dick was like a son to him, even though they were not related by blood and since Bruce had not kids of his own due to dedicating his life to freedom and justice.

"Dick, what's wrong. I haven't seen you since yesterday. Kaldur told me that you are leaving the team?" Bruce said in his typical voice. "I am, not forever, just temporarily until I figure some things out". He felt the cold stare of Bruce upon him, a look he would give him whenever he made a stupid mistake like forgetting his nose breather against poison ivy or forgetting to do his homework.

"I wish that I could just see Wally one more time" Dick said in a depressed voice. The look of sadness of Dick's face made even Bruce, the famous Batman feel sadness for the twenty year old adult. Bruce knew about him and Wally before they even started dating behind his back. Dick thought that he could hide him and Wally from Bruce but you could never things from the world's greatest detective. Bruce was always on top of things like that.

He did not care about that, he knew that Wally made Dick happy and that's all that mattered. "I know Wally made you happy, but you have to accept the fact that he can never come back" Bruce explained. Dick thought he was crazy for saying this, but deep down he knew that his mentor was right.

"I know, but I just want him back for a moment to say goodbye. I never got that chance" Dick screamed out loud, nearly making all the bats . Dick fell to his knees and covered his face to hide the tears.

"I know how you feel, there was someone before, who I lost" Bruce explained in a calm rational manner. "Who?" Dick asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Selina Kyle, we can never be together, no matter what" Bruce explained. Things clicked in Dick's head, the encounters with catwoman made more sense.

"Wow, things made a lot more sense now" Dick said in an enlightened voice. Bruce took his hand and pulled his adopted son off the ground. He wanted Dick to be happy but he knew that would take a long time, after all Wally was more than a friend to Dick. He .

"If there is one thing that I teach you, it's we as heroes we have two choices. We either die in battle or we become so old that we are useless. We don't get a choice in that but it's what we signed up for. The best thing we can do is remember them for who they were and what they did and know that you will meet him again. Don't hold in your anger, it will consume you and you'll end up like Jason. I cannot deal with that again" Bruce explained his typical voice. "I guess you're right". They both hug one another and Bruce goes on to the Watchtower where he is needed.

Dick leaves the batcave and drives out to Bludhaven to visit the site of Wally's death. A feeling of regret and anger fills Dicks head. He remembers how Artemis dropped to her knees after finding out and Megan holding her, reassuring her it was going to be okay. It made him sick that his best friend went out like that. At least he was in a better place now.

Dick walks up and sits down on the cold hard ground. "Wally, I'm sorry for not being there to save you. You always had my back and I let you down the one time you needed help, I just want you to be here with me but I know this can't happen". Dick says, holding back tears. Dick looks down and sees a letter with his name on it. "What the hell?" Dick exclaims. He opens it and reads it out loud.

_Dear, Richard Grayson_

_The purpose of me writing this letter was to let you that my death is not your fault. You should not beat yourself up every single day because of it. You are my little man, no matter what. The only thing that keeps me going was you and Artemis. Both of you allowed me to live my life and you helped me whenever I needed it. I wish I could turn back time to be with you again but I can't. If you can do me one more favor, live your life. I'll make it up to you._

_Love,_

_Wallace Rudolph West_

Dick feels a feeling of peace that he has not felt in a long time. He knows that his friend is in a better place and that he can live his life. Dick gets up and departs as he remembers the time that they shared their identities with each other.

"Happiness can only exist in acceptance."


End file.
